


A Father's Hope

by AchillesMonkey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Discussion of losing a child, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, discussion of past child death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10654845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchillesMonkey/pseuds/AchillesMonkey
Summary: After the Framework, Mack struggles with his memories of Hope. A few years later, he makes a promise to his infant twins, that they will never have to face anything like what he's been through.





	A Father's Hope

The sleeping baby in the picture looked so sweet and innocent. Mack stared at her through tear-filled eyes. He knew that Hope died in real life, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his other life—the life the Framework gave him—the life where Hope survived. Sure, that life being ruled by Hydra was terrifying, but he had his little girl. He had someone to protect and nurture. He had Hope.

A soft tapping on the door broke him from his thoughts. He wiped the tears from his eyes and cleared his throat. “Come in,” he called out.

The door opened, revealing a worried—but trying to hide it—Elena. “Hello, Mack,” she greeted him, entering the bedroom and closing the door behind her. “How are you doing?”

More tears filled his eyes and he doesn’t try to stop them. “Not good,” he admitted. “I—I miss her. I know she wasn’t real, not that version of her, but I miss her. It sucks—knowing what could have been.”

Elena came over and sat next to him on the bed, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. “I am so sorry, Mack.” He showed Hope’s picture to her, and she smiled. “She was beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Mack agreed.

“Do you want more children?” Elena asked, breaking the comfortable silence they’d fallen into.

“Yeah,” Mack said. “Not right now, not right away, but if anything good came from the Framework, it’s that it showed me how much I love being a dad. I loved teaching my little girl about motorcycles. I loved introducing her to cheesy horror movies. I loved holding her in my arms and knowing that she trusted me to keep her safe. I’d like to experience that again.”

“I think I would like that too,” Elena said. “You are a good man, Alphonso Mackenzie. You are a good father too. I hope I will be as good a mother.”

“You’ll be the best mother,” Mack reassured her.

 

~*~*~*~

 

**Three years and several months later**

Mack stared down at the two tiny babies in the bassinet in awe. Alma Esperanza Mackenzie-Rodriguez opened her eyes and stared back. Her twin brother, Jesús Alphonso Mackenzie-Rodriguez was sleeping soundly next to her. They both had ten tiny fingers, and ten tiny toes, and heads full of dark, curly hair. The doctors had reassured them over and over throughout the pregnancy that the babies were perfectly healthy, even with the premature birth. Simmons had suggested that Elena’s Inhuman powers had caused the babies to grow at a faster speed, meaning Elena didn’t need the full 40 weeks for the babies to be full-term.

Alma began to cry and Mack quickly picked his daughter up, marveling at how she nearly fit into one of his hands. “Come see Daddy, Alma,” he whispered as he maneuvered her into the crook of his arm. “Mama’s sleeping.” He took her over to the window of the hospital room, which overlooked the parking lot. “See that motorcycle down there, Alma? That’s Daddy’s motorcycle. As soon as you’re big enough, I’ll teach you and your brother all about it.” Alma let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes. “Oh, I see how it is. Fall asleep as soon as your old man starts talking.”

He placed Alma back in the bassinet next to Jesús. “I love you both,” he told them, “more than you’ll ever know. And I promise to keep you both safe. You’ll never have to experience the things I’ve been through, or the things your mother has been through. Except for terrigenesis—but only when you’re 18, and only if you want to.”

“They will grow up in a safe world,” Elena commented. “Because we have worked hard to make it so.”

Mack smiled at her and nodded. “The only killer robots they’ll know are the ones in the cheesy movies we show them.”

“I think we should start with Chopping Mall,” Elena said.

“Okay,” Mack agreed. “And then we move on to The Lawnmower Man.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Thanks for any kudos/comments! I'm unlessimwrongwhichyouknowimnot on Tumblr.


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